What does EGW write about...
Adventistische Schriften über: "Josiah Litch Prophecy 1840"
Answer
Josiah Litch, a leading preacher of the Miller movement, already in 1838 based on biblical calculations predicted the loss of power of the Ottoman Empire for the year 1840. Shortly before the event he specified his prediction to August 11, 1840, when the Turkish government actually lost its independence. This precise fulfillment gave the Advent movement a tremendous boost and strengthened thousands in their confidence in the prophetic interpretation of the Holy Scriptures.
The Prediction and Its Fulfillment
In the year 1840, another remarkable fulfillment of prophecies aroused widespread interest. Two years earlier, Josiah Litch, one of the leading preachers of the Second Advent, published an interpretation in which he predicted the fall of the Ottoman Empire, specifying not only the year but the exact day it would occur. According to this interpretation, which was based solely on calculations of the prophetic periods of Scripture, the Turkish government would relinquish its independence on August 11, 1840.
Based on his interpretation, Josiah Litch predicted in 1838 that the Ottoman power would be broken in 1840. On August 1, 1840, he prophesied that this would happen on August 11. What occurred on that day confirmed the faith of many people in the Millerites' interpretation of Scripture and gave the Advent movement a great impetus.
The exact fulfillment of this prophecy on August 11, 1840, when the Turkish government relinquished its independence and has since been known as “the sick man of the Bosporus,” was for many a striking proof that prophecies can be understood and that people are living in the end times.
This work clearly demonstrated that the fifth and sixth of the seven trumpets refer to the Ottoman power and that the period of Muslim dominance over the eastern or Greek part of the Roman Empire would end in August 1840. The events fully confirmed the interpretation.
- Ottoman Empire 1840
- Miller movement prophecies
- Seven trumpets interpretation
Original Sources (English)
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